In response to the Notice of Allegations it received from the NCAA in February, the University of Tennessee tried to shift the blame to former football coach Lane Kiffin as it looks to minimize sanctions it incurs for a host of recruiting violations.

In a 190-page document filed with the NCAA and obtained by the News Sentinel of Knoxville, UT said that its compliance office tried to “fully educate the staff of all aspects of NCAA rules” and implied that Kiffin, not the university, should be held accountable for impermissible phone calls made to recruits and for bringing a recruiting intern with him on a trip to Florida.

Tennessee figures to lay blame at the feet of Lane Kiffin. (AP photo)

"To the extent that he could have prevented the violations from occurring but failed to do so, the University agrees that Kiffin failed to adequately monitor his own activities and the activities of members of his staff in those two instances," UT said in its response.